Duskpaw's Training~ [p]

[squidz]

Briarsplash hovered near the apprentice's den, hesitating. Every part of her screamed to find some other excuse — a random hunting or border patrol she could tag along, or just to do some solo quest.

But she'd pushed it off long enough. Her patrol with Hawkbite and Brownpaw showed her that — she'd seen glimpses of the mentor being patient and kind with Brownpaw. Briar knew she should do the same — each day she didn't, Dusk was falling behind. And it'd be all her fault.

How can you hope to be a true ShadowClan warrior if you can't do this?

The large she-cat collected herself — why was she so afraid? There were very few things she feared, and training an apprentice seemed to be a silly addition to that imposing list.

Finally, she spoke. In her surprisingly-soft voice for her large form, she called out, "Duskpaw... Duskpaw, are you awake? It's... time to start your training."

There. It was done. She leaned back on her haunches, flexing her claws in the dirt as she waited for the apprentice's response.


/ @LostInTheOrchids - i mentioned this in another post but i'm writing in my obliviousness (still punching myself) as briar being hesitant/nervous to start training to make in-character sense !!

[squidz]

--TRAINING TRACKER--

[Duskpaw's training tracker will be edited as we go along. If she gains any experience relevant to this post, please let me know via VM or whatever else so I can update it here! I gathered the requirements from the "request a ceremony" form on ShadowClan's homepage. ]

Apprentices need at least five instances of learning experience that include the company of a warrior. The warrior does not have to be their mentor. 1 hunting, 1 fighting, 1 stealth lesson must be learned and the last 2 lessons can be of your choice.

These experiences may include:

Hunting lessons - ( 0/1 lesson required)

Battle training sessions - ( 0/1 lesson required )

Patrols (hunting, border, battle, herb collection) - (1 patrol(s) completed together)

Stealth training - ( 0/1 lesson required )

Battle experiences (such as raids - requires a battle training session) - (0 battle experiences)

Any other life experience where the character learns something substantial - (0 other substantial experiences)


Plot participation


Clan meeting participation - (0/2 required meetings with at least 2 posts)

Battle assessment (with Dawnstar or Enforcers) - (0/1 required assessment; may use raid or event as a replacement)

Other rules:

- no recent punishments/breaking warrior code in order to obtain ceremony
- aim to make these qualifications before the age of 18 moons, or will be reassessed

@LostInTheOrchids - pls let me know on VM if you want any changes or if there's anything else I can add <3 if Dusk has participated in something or gained training from elsewhere I can make the appropriate changes here!

[LostInTheOrchids]

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙


·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ˚Duskpaw of Shadowclan | 6 moons | Purrks: n/a | Training Tracker˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Duskpaw, being her usual self, knew BriarSplash was approaching, her ears and nose were better than the average cat, and she was already half-awake anyway. "Mmm? Training? Training!" She quickly sat up to listen. "Also! Guess what Great-Grandma-Dawny told me when i was a kit!"

- @SentimentalSquid

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~

shadowclan warrior | she-cat | abrasive, standoffish, loyal

~

Briarsplash's ears perked up in mild alarm at Duskpaw's energy, though it was normal for any excited apprentice; it seemed that the young cat exploded in energy compared to Briar's wary hesitance. Her immediate response was annoyance, wanting to snap at Duskpaw, though she stopped herself — this apprentice had taken a soft spot in her closed-off heart, and she really didn't wanna ruin her day. Besides, Briarsplash got annoyed way too easily, and she knew it. Was this any different from other apprentices eager to start their training? No... so she had to suck it up.

With a short inhale, Briarsplash hesitated, glancing around the clearing briefly before returning her gaze to Duskpaw. "Yes, training... and what did Dawnstar tell you?" She tried to lift up her tone at the end, an attempt to sound enthused. But truthfully, the warrior was still wracked both by nerves and her habitual impatience. She did her best to put it down and listen to the young cat's words.



/ @LostInTheOrchids -- dusky is so cute, don't mind briar's attitude LOLL she's got some character development to do

[LostInTheOrchids]

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙


·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ˚Duskpaw of Shadowclan | 6 moons | Purrks: n/a | Training Tracker˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Scenting the annoyance of her mentor, Dusky simply shrugged it off as morning tiredness. "She told me that I can ask whatever I want since i need to learn! She also said whoever tells me I cant, she'll claw their ears off!" Dusky wasnt scared of Dawny! Great-Grandma-Dawny was her namesake after all! "Also! Why are other so scared of her? She's nice!" Completely oblivious to her grandmother's darker side, she got up and stretched, briefly grooming her fur to get moss and bracken chunks out of it.

- @SentimentalSquid (forgive dusky and her adorableness)

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~
shadowclan warrior | she-cat | abrasive, standoffish, loyal

~

Briarsplash gritted her teeth in an attempt to keep her tongue behind them. How could she forget that Duskpaw was Dawnstar's great grandchild? It was just now hitting her, despite Duskpaw's earlier words. Not only was she trying to train a blind apprentice as her very first, but they were also a direct family member to the formidable leader.

Stars... as if this couldn't get any worse.

Briarsplash inhaled through her nose slowly to collect her thoughts before she spoke —  a habit she didn't practice too often.

"Well... she's right, you can ask just about anything you want." Briar had to give some grace for that; being taken into the Clan as a former outsider, she had asked a whole lot of questions, even forsaking her pride because she didn't know what in StarClan's name was going on sometimes.

But Dawnstar's threat... yeah, that gave a chill down Briar's spine. She already knew she was on thin ice in general from her background, despite many moons of faithful service to her Clan since.

"And, well, uh... Dawnstar is a very strong and powerful leader. Stronger than any of the other Clans'," Briarsplash explained slowly, glancing around again to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. Last thing she needed was some camp gossip telling everyone that she'd been talking about the leader. Briarsplash kept her voice low as she added, "And... she does claws ears off, and more. 'N more often than ya think."

Should she have told the young apprentice that? Well, she'd have to learn sometime. Especially if Duskpaw was gonna shape up into a warrior... she'd have to be ready to claw some ears off sometimes, too. Perhaps learning that her 'Great-Grandma-Dawny' did it would speed the process along?



/ @LostInTheOrchids -- she's too cute ahh . but i can forgive it

[LostInTheOrchids]

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙


·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ˚Duskpaw of Shadowclan | 7 moons | Purrks: n/a | Training Tracker˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Dusky liked Briar! She wasn't trying to coddle her because she's blind, no. Not even lying to her! "She's the strongest? Then I'm glad i'm in shadowclan!" Lifting herself to her paws, her nose twitched. "Anyway... trees have this strange smell to them. Like a mixture of dirt and leaves..." Ohhhh wait! Briar needed a nickname! Briary.... no... Splashy? YEAH!

- @squidz

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~
very large & fluffy dilute gray tortie she-cat with goldish-green eyes
shadowclan warrior | she-cat | abrasive, standoffish, loyal

~

Briarsplash nodded, somewhat impressed at how Duskpaw responded. She had anticipated the apprentice being shaken by the news of her matriarch's brutal behavior, but here she was doing just fine. Hmph. Maybe I can make you a warrior after all...

"Yes... be grateful you're in the best Clan there is. No others can touch us when we all put in the work to be great warriors." She instinctively flexed her claws into the dirt at the statement, feeling a brush of pride for her Clan.

The warrior fluffed out her tail, the early morning chill hardly reaching beyond her thick pelt when Duskpaw continued her commentary. "Trees, yes... they do smell like that. They're very large things and grow out of the dirt with plenty of leaves all over them. The leaves often fall to the forest floor as it gets colder, 'n that's how we get the name leaf-fall." Briarsplash paused for a moment — was she just overexplaining something Duskpaw already knew? Not wanting to continue in case she was coming off as condescending — didn't want the ear-full from Dawnstar — she waved her tail towards the camp entrance, creating a swoosh of air as if to try to direct Duskpaw towards the direction she was looking.

"Come now, let's get going. I know you've tried some sort of hunting before based on our patrol..." The mentor paused again for a moment, considering their options. "...Alright, I'll let you choose, kid. More hunting practice, or battle-training for today's lesson?"

They could do stealth training too, but Briarsplash decided it may be best to get the basics down. If one could practice hunting crouches and battle positions, perhaps stealth would come easier?




/ @LostInTheOrchids -- i love how briar was trying to scare her and dusk is just like yay shadowclan!! i'm gonna call her splashy LOL